Ireland holidays + Food & drink | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/ireland+lifeandstyle/food-and-drink
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016Sat, 10 Dec 2016 01:47:11 GMT2016-12-10T01:47:11Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Beer: the Irish craft beer revolutionhttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/12/irelands-craft-beer-revolution-fiona-beckett
<p>Our drinks expert reports her findings from an arduous research trip to the Emerald Isle</p><p>From the black-and-gold awnings over the front of every other pub, you’d think no one in Dublin drank anything but Guinness. In fact, a craft beer revolution in Ireland is posing a serious challenge to the black stuff.</p><p>Visit one of the many craft bars in the city, and you’ll get the chance to taste beers from microbreweries all over the country. At <a href="http://lmulligangrocer.com">L Mulligan Grocer</a> in Stoneybatter, for example, I tried two great brews: <a href="http://troublebrewing.ie">Trouble Brewing</a>’s <strong>Beoir #2</strong> (7.8% abv), an imperial red ale made in collaboration with the craft beer group <a href="http://www.beoir.org">Beoir</a>, Ireland’s answer to Camra; and <a href="http://www.metalmanbrewing.com/our-beers/"><strong>Metalman Heat Sink</strong></a> (4.9% abv), from Waterford, a smoked porter with a pinch of cayenne pepper (deliciously smooth and less spicy than it sounds).</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/12/irelands-craft-beer-revolution-fiona-beckett">Continue reading...</a>Food & drinkLife and styleBeerIreland holidaysEurope holidaysTravelIrish food and drinkThu, 12 Mar 2015 18:00:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/12/irelands-craft-beer-revolution-fiona-beckettPhotograph: Kirk Treakle / Alamy/AlamyPhotograph: Kirk Treakle / Alamy/AlamyFiona Beckett2015-03-12T18:00:11ZThe most far flung Irish pubs in the worldhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/dec/15/irish-pubs-around-the-world
<p>No matter how far you travel, one thing’s for sure – you’re likely to come across an Irish pub. We pick some of the most remote and unusually-located, from the world’s highest to a bar at the end of the earth</p><p><strong>• Have you been to a great Irish bar on your travels? Tell us about it in the comments below</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/dec/15/irish-pubs-around-the-world">Continue reading...</a>Ireland holidaysFood and drinkTravelFood & drinkPubsMon, 15 Dec 2014 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/dec/15/irish-pubs-around-the-worldPhotograph: http://www.doolin-house.ruPhotograph: http://www.doolin-house.ruGuardian Staff2014-12-15T06:00:00ZEimear McBride: Johnny McHale's, a classic Irish pub in County Mayohttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/oct/11/johnny-mchales-irish-pub-county-mayo
<p>The novelist’s favourite pub is known for serving a ‘meejum’ of Guinness</p><p>The number of times I’ve gone back and forth to Ireland over the years has varied, but whenever I’m back in my home town in County Mayo, especially at Christmas, I always have a night out with friends at John McHale’s pub on Chapel Street Lower in Castlebar.</p><p>It’s just a real old-boy pub. Very unspoiled. The front used to be a shop, so you can sit at the old counter, or at the bar. But what it’s famous for is serving a “meejum” of Guinness. Rather than a half or a pint, you get a measure somewhere in between. I would usually have just one or two – I’m not a big Guinness drinker – but my husband is now a firm devotee of the meejum.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/oct/11/johnny-mchales-irish-pub-county-mayo">Continue reading...</a>Ireland holidaysPubsBars and clubsEurope holidaysTravelFood & drinkLife and styleFood and drinkBeerSat, 11 Oct 2014 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/oct/11/johnny-mchales-irish-pub-county-mayoPhotograph: PRJohn McHale's pub, IrelandPhotograph: PRJohn McHale's pub, IrelandEimear McBride2014-10-11T06:00:00ZCraft beer in Ireland: 10 pubs and microbreweries to explorehttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/oct/29/craft-beer-ireland-10-pubs-microbreweries
Guinness sales may be down but Ireland's craft beer scene is blossoming. We pick some of the best brewpubs for sampling the new ales<p>Oscar Wilde called work "the curse of the drinking classes". But in his native Ireland these days, it seems their main chore is finding a drinking establishment that's still open: since 2006 more than 1,000 pubs have closed. However, a new generation of craft brewers and brewpubs are filling the gap, catering for drinkers who want something more than the ubiquitous pint of Guinness.</p><p>Reuben Grey of <a href="http://www.irishcraftbrewer.com/" title="">Beoir</a>, a consumer group that supports microbreweries, says small brewers are innovating in the face of formidable competition from Guinness and the rest. "Back in the 1990s the craft ale scene in Ireland didn't really exist," says Reuben. "But a change in beer duties meant independent brewers got 50% tax rebates, which changed everything. Even though people have less money, they can see the appeal of supporting boutique local breweries."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/oct/29/craft-beer-ireland-10-pubs-microbreweries">Continue reading...</a>Ireland holidaysBars and clubsEurope holidaysTravelBeerFood & drinkPubsLife and styleTue, 29 Oct 2013 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/oct/29/craft-beer-ireland-10-pubs-microbreweriesPhotograph: PRCraft brewing is increasingly popular in Ireland as the country seeks to move away from the drink it has become synonymous with. Pictured, Oslo Bar, GalwayPhotograph: PRCraft brewing is increasingly popular in Ireland as the country seeks to move away from the drink it has become synonymous with. Pictured, Oslo Bar, GalwayRob Crossan2013-10-29T06:00:00ZBelfast restaurant reviews: Coppi, Mourne Seafood Bar, Ox Restauranthttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/21/coppi-mourne-ox-belfast-restaurants
With its plethora of restaurants, the city is firmly geared up for the visiting gourmand. But just how good are they? <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/21/coppi-mourne-ox-belfast-restaurants">Continue reading...</a>Food & drinkBelfast holidaysIreland holidaysRestaurantsRestaurantsLife and styleTravelUnited Kingdom holidaysSun, 21 Jul 2013 06:36:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/21/coppi-mourne-ox-belfast-restaurantsPhotograph: William Cherry/PresseyeBull market: the simple interior at Ox. Photograph: William Cherry/PressEyePhotograph: William Cherry/PresseyeBull market: the simple interior at Ox. Photograph: William Cherry/PressEyeJay Rayner2013-07-21T06:36:00ZFood festivals in May and June 2011https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/apr/27/food-festivals-may-june-2011
A roundup of the best early summer food festivals around the UK and Ireland<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/interactive/2011/may/20/food-festival-guide-2011">• Interactive: food festivals 2011</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/apr/27/food-festivals-may-june-2011">Continue reading...</a>Food festivalsFood & drinkLife and styleFood and drinkTravelUnited Kingdom holidaysIreland holidaysWed, 27 Apr 2011 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/apr/27/food-festivals-may-june-2011Photograph: PRCrab & Lobster Festival, Cromer and Sheringham, Norfolk.Photograph: PRCrab & Lobster Festival, Cromer and Sheringham, Norfolk.Tony Naylor2011-04-27T09:00:00ZSt Patrick's Day recipe: cabbage timbale with tomato sauce and parsnip gnocchihttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/16/st-patricks-day-recipe-cabbage
Celebrate St Patrick's Day and the excellence of fresh produce<p><strong>2 heads spring cabbage<br>1 leek, washed and diced<br>4 cloves garlic, chopped<br>100g <a href="http://www.wcnc.ie/">Gabriel cheese</a><br>1 small bunch of chives<br>2 aubergines</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/16/st-patricks-day-recipe-cabbage">Continue reading...</a>Vegetarian food and drinkFood & drinkLife and styleIreland holidaysSt Patrick's DayWed, 16 Mar 2011 18:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/16/st-patricks-day-recipe-cabbageDenis Cotter2011-03-16T18:00:00ZIrish whiskey: the spirit of St Patrickhttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/mar/16/irish-whiskey-st-patricks-day
So St Patrick was born in Scotland and Ireland is the original home of whisky? Felicity Cloake investigates. Will you be raising a glass for St Patrick's Day?<p>Go into any pub this St Patrick's day, and you'd be forgiven for thinking the scourge of Ireland's snakes was born in St James' Gate, so cannily has a certain Dublin brewery leaped on the emerald green bandwagon with shamrock bunting, shameless hats and merchandising. Despite its considerable clout at the pumps, Guinness is not the <a href="http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/osaka-brewers-stout-named-worlds-best-in-british-contest">only stout</a> in the world though – and stout, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/12/beer-stout-review">as pleasing as it is</a>, is emphatically not the only Irish drink worth toasting old Pádraig with, on this or any other day.</p><p>If Ireland's cornered the market in beer as black as a boot, Scotland – the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ireland/5005127/St-Patricks-Day-Top-10-facts.html">likely birthplace</a> of yer man Patrick, as it happens – has established a near monopoly on uisce beatha; they traded a saint for a holy spirit, and seem to have got themselves a bit of a bargain. The scotch whisky market is worth £4bn a year, the Irish one considerably less but, after decades in the doldrums, it is at last rallying: exports were up 30% last year.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/mar/16/irish-whiskey-st-patricks-day">Continue reading...</a>WhiskyFood & drinkLife and styleIreland holidaysSt Patrick's DayIrish food and drinkWed, 16 Mar 2011 09:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/mar/16/irish-whiskey-st-patricks-dayPhotograph: PRBushmills Irish whiskey.Photograph: PRBushmills Irish whiskey.Felicity Cloake2011-03-16T09:30:00ZKinsale's travelling banquethttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/01/kinsale-international-gourmet-festival-ireland
As it prepares for its annual Gourmet Festival, County Cork's most famous foodie destination is as warm and friendly as ever<p>When other parts of Ireland find sun and warmth replaced with autumn mists, summer lingers a little longer in Kinsale. Borne on the gulf stream the season which brings touring food enthusiasts to this little town on the coast of County Cork breezes in early as if to beat the rush, warming the palm trees on the waterfront and waking the bars and restaurants from slumber. Off-season sleepiness becomes a humming busyness as visitors from all over Europe and America are fed and watered over the summer months, and the annual rhythm rises to a beating crescendo with a grand gourmet festival in early October.</p><p>This year sees the 34th such event, <a href="http://www.kinsalerestaurants.com/autumn.php">3 days of revelry from 8-10 October</a>. It's a tradition that started as an end of season thank you from the town's many restaurateurs and hoteliers to their staff, and to this day the festival involves enormous numbers of local people bent on enjoyment, and they are people to whom conviviality comes easily. The weekend's main event is a travelling banquet on the Saturday, when 300 or so eager gourmands don silly hats to follow characters from Lewis Carroll's Mad Hatter's tea party in an increasingly unsteady procession around the town, pausing frequently at the town's many fine restaurants to graze on local produce and see what each kitchen does with it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/01/kinsale-international-gourmet-festival-ireland">Continue reading...</a>Irish food and drinkFood & drinkIreland holidaysFri, 01 Oct 2010 11:40:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/01/kinsale-international-gourmet-festival-irelandPhotograph: PRLocals and visitors gather for the travelling Mad Hatter's Tea Party at the Kinsale Gourmet Festival, Co Cork, October 2009.Photograph: PRLocals and visitors gather for the travelling Mad Hatter's Tea Party at the Kinsale Gourmet Festival, Co Cork, October 2009.Rick Peters2010-10-01T11:40:00ZNo Guinness please, we're Irishhttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/sep/22/guinness-arthurs-day
The efforts of Diageo to equate Ireland with Guinness via the medium of marketing continue tomorrow with 'Arthur's Day'. The whole shebang is a relic, says Ed Power<p>An unlikely mish-mash of international pop stars descends on Guinness's St James's Gate brewery and sundry other Dublin venues tomorrow for the second annual <a href="http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/arthursday/index.html">"Arthur's Day"</a>. Manic Street Preachers, Tinie Tempah and <a href="http://www.brandonflowersmusic.com/">that bloke from The Killers</a> who can't decide whether or not to grow a beard are among those bound for the Irish capital, where they will spend the evening serenading the world's favourite stout. If such a juxtaposition of facial hair and egos sounds far-fetched consider that last year they had Tom Jones sweating out his hits alongside Dizzee Rascal and Kasabian.</p><p>In Ireland, Arthur's Day – the anniversary of Arthur Guinness signing a 9,000 year lease on St James's Gate in 1759 – is being pitched as a sort of secular St Patrick's Day, a long overdue acknowledgement of the centrality of Guinness to Irish life. Which may have made sense if Brandon Flowers was being flown in to belt out Mr Brightside, in, say, 1958. Nowadays, of course, Guinness is the liquid equivalent of a plastic bodhrán or one of those <a href="http://www.carrollsirishgifts.com/product/Novelty/Costumes/stC101614_3835">strap-on Leprechaun beards</a> you can buy in tourist shops: though outsiders regard it as a key component of their authentic Irish "experience", for natives it is less a national symbol than a relic of bygone times.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/sep/22/guinness-arthurs-day">Continue reading...</a>BeerFood & drinkLife and styleIreland holidaysWed, 22 Sep 2010 09:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/sep/22/guinness-arthurs-dayPhotograph: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS SportThe authentic Irish experience: Australian rugby fans drinking Guinness at a game against Romania (in Belfast). Photograph: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS SportPhotograph: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS SportThe authentic Irish experience: Australian rugby fans drinking Guinness at a game against Romania (in Belfast). Photograph: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS SportEd Power2010-09-22T09:30:00Z10 top breakfasts in Britainhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jan/23/best-breakfasts-britain-food
This Sunday sees the start of Farmhouse Breakfast Week - the perfect excuse for Tony Naylor to eat his way around Britain.<p><a href="http://www.farmhousebreakfast.com">Farmhouse Breakfast Week</a>, from 25 - 31 January, 2009, is an annual celebration of the most important meal of the day. Here we pick 10 venues where breakfast is very much a pleasure to be savoured, and you can tell us about your favourite breakfast spots on our <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2009/jan/23/farmhouse-breakfast-week">Word of Mouth blog</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jan/23/best-breakfasts-britain-food">Continue reading...</a>Food and drinkUnited Kingdom holidaysRestaurantsFood & drinkTravelEdinburgh holidaysLondon holidaysDevon holidaysWales holidaysManchester holidaysBirmingham holidaysIreland holidaysFri, 23 Jan 2009 11:15:22 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jan/23/best-breakfasts-britain-foodPhotograph: Murdo MacLeodTuck in ... celebrate Farmhouse Breakfast Week with the perfect fry-up. Photograph: Murdo MacleodPhotograph: Murdo MacLeodTuck in ... celebrate Farmhouse Breakfast Week with the perfect fry-up. Photograph: Murdo MacleodTony Naylor2009-01-23T11:15:22ZA regional food tour of the UKhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/sep/04/travelfoodanddrink.uk
You don't have to travel to France or Italy to experience a rich diversity of regional foods. Tony Naylor picks 10 UK delicacies and where best to eat them<p>Head to the centre of Swansea's indoor market and you'll find a cluster of stalls which local foodies swear by. At Karen Evans's traditional bakery (stall 55D), you can eat fantastic Welsh cakes - scone-like patties studded with dried fruit - served hot off the griddle and dusted with sugar. Next door, the rotunda contains six family-run stalls selling South Wales' beloved Penclawdd cockles and fresh laver bread (cooked seaweed, often rolled in oats and fried into little cakes). Just splash on the vinegar and away you go. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/sep/04/travelfoodanddrink.uk">Continue reading...</a>Food and drinkUnited Kingdom holidaysTravelFood & drinkWales holidaysIreland holidaysScotland holidaysLancashire holidaysYorkshire holidaysDevon holidaysLiverpool holidaysLife and styleEthical and green livingEnvironmentThu, 04 Sep 2008 09:21:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/sep/04/travelfoodanddrink.ukPhotograph: PRTop nosh ... spoil yourself with a Lancashire hotpot at Northcote Manor in BlackburnPhotograph: PRTop nosh ... spoil yourself with a Lancashire hotpot at Northcote Manor in BlackburnTony Naylor2008-09-04T09:21:06ZOn the Irish whiskey trailhttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/24/foodanddrink
Warming, peaty, smooth or smoky - but hints of vanilla and chocolate? <strong>Jack Arnott</strong> swallows his cynicism and savours the high notes on a whiskey tasting tour<p>"OK, now for the 10-year-old malt. The taste should hit you like a dark chocolate, melting on your tongue, which then releases a burst of vanilla that sinks into your cheeks."</p><p>I survey the yellow, slightly syrupy liquid in front of me. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/24/foodanddrink">Continue reading...</a>Food & drinkLife and styleTravelIreland holidaysFood and drinkWhiskyWed, 23 Jul 2008 23:06:51 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/24/foodanddrinkPhotograph: Public domainTasting tours at Bushmills whiskey distillery in Antrim, northern IrelandPhotograph: Public domainTasting tours at Bushmills whiskey distillery in Antrim, northern IrelandJack Arnott2008-07-23T23:06:51ZTop 10 Dublin bar secretshttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/aug/06/dublin.bars
Dubliner Pol O'Conghaile takes you on a clandestine crawl of his favourite drinking holes<p>Three words: Dublin's best-kept secret. I shouldn't even be telling you about it, but dammit, I must. Entered via the hotel lobby below, the first thing you notice about the Library Bar is the way your voice instinctively lowers. There's just something about the lush couches, lavish armchairs and dog-eared old books that demands it. First floor views of South George's Street gratify as would a private booth at an opera. Table service, the occasional pianist and a sophisticated but informal clientele (there isn't a Ralph Lauren shirt in sight) complete the package. Arrive early for the couches.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/aug/06/dublin.bars">Continue reading...</a>TravelDublin holidaysBars and clubsIreland holidaysFood and drinkFood & drinkTue, 07 Aug 2007 09:32:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/aug/06/dublin.barsPhotograph: Deck of SecretsThe Stag's Head ... rumour has it even Quentin Tarantino was refused an after-hours tipple for pulling rank. Photograph: Deck of SecretsPhotograph: Deck of SecretsThe Stag's Head ... rumour has it even Quentin Tarantino was refused an after-hours tipple for pulling rank. Photograph: Deck of SecretsPol O'Conghaile2007-08-07T09:32:25Z10 scrummy retreatshttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/feb/17/weekends.restaurants.foodanddrink
Gothenburg | Arbois | Trossachs | Dingle | Tolosa | Naples | Agrigento | Ripon | Bruges | Laguiole<p><strong>The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Saturday March 3 2007</strong></p><p>We said in the article below that GNER services went to Ripon station. Ripon lost its railway service in 1967. The nearest train stations are Harrogate and York.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/feb/17/weekends.restaurants.foodanddrink">Continue reading...</a>TravelWeekend breaksRestaurantsFood & drinkGothenburg holidaysSweden holidaysFrance holidaysScotland holidaysIreland holidaysSpain holidaysNaples holidaysItaly holidaysSicily holidaysYorkshire holidaysBruges holidaysBelgium holidaysLife and styleRestaurantsSat, 17 Feb 2007 11:41:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/feb/17/weekends.restaurants.foodanddrinkPhotograph: PRL'Azienda Fattoria Mose is the Agnellos' lovely home set in their olive farm on Sicily's southern coast.Photograph: PRL'Azienda Fattoria Mose is the Agnellos' lovely home set in their olive farm on Sicily's southern coast.Kevin Gould2007-02-17T11:41:44ZSucculent city breakhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/jul/24/shortbreaks.ireland.cork
How do you spend a cheap weekend in a city packed with cultural and culinary treats <em>and </em>make it relaxing? Go to Cork and soak it up slowly, writes Rachel Beard<p>"I have sought to discover a haven of rest, Where the sun sinks by night in the land of the West". So wrote John FitzGerald in his Bard of the Lee in 1913.</p><p>The words 'haven' and 'rest' aren't always synonymous with weekend city escapes. For most, the necessity to squeeze the 'must-sees' into a hurried itinerary and capture a snapshot of a city in a two-day stint overshadow any thoughts of r'n'r. In fact, after returning home from recent flying visits to Berlin and Stockholm, I needed at least a day to nurse my blisters and an afternoon to catch up on shut-eye. However a couple of days in laid-back Cork, a short hop across the Irish Sea, offered a chance to take in the scenery while shifting down a couple of gears.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/jul/24/shortbreaks.ireland.cork">Continue reading...</a>Short breaksTravelIreland holidaysCork holidaysFood and drinkFood & drinkMon, 24 Jul 2006 17:17:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/jul/24/shortbreaks.ireland.corkRachel Beard2006-07-24T17:17:05ZIrish seafood on a platehttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/apr/22/ireland.restaurants
Taste Ireland's pure shores reap some of the finest seafood in Europe. Here are five of the best places to enjoy it. They're all good value, too<p>Ireland is rightly renowned for the quality of its beef and lamb. Its soda bread and farmhouse cheeses are equally celebrated. Even the country's famously floury potatoes are revered in certain circles.</p><p>Yet one of the highlights of any culinary visit to the Republic remains the excellence and freshness of its seafood. Think of gastronomic Ireland and you picture smoked wild Atlantic salmon, plump native oysters, seared scallops, Dublin Bay prawns, and grilled black sole - all delivered from boat to plate in hours, not days.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/apr/22/ireland.restaurants">Continue reading...</a>Ireland holidaysTravelRestaurantsRestaurantsFood and drinkFood & drinkLife and styleSat, 22 Apr 2006 16:51:17 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/apr/22/ireland.restaurantsGuardian Staff2006-04-22T16:51:17ZThe best cooking holidayhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/feb/05/theobserverstop25travelexperiences.ireland.travelfoodanddrink
Ballymaloe<p>Catholic in the very best sense of the word, Darina Allen's courses don't have the single-minded approach of some Tuscan or Thai-based cooking holidays, and yet remain connected to Ballymaloe's immediate environment.</p><p>Set among the bucolic landscape of east Cork in Ireland, the school offers courses suitable for all levels and which take in everything from tea appreciation to a basic home-butchery course, by way of seafood and cooking for those with coeliac disease.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/feb/05/theobserverstop25travelexperiences.ireland.travelfoodanddrink">Continue reading...</a>The Observer's top 25 travel experiencesTravelIreland holidaysFood and drinkFood & drinkLife and styleIrish food and drinkSun, 05 Feb 2006 19:24:58 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/feb/05/theobserverstop25travelexperiences.ireland.travelfoodanddrinkSarah Turner2006-02-05T19:24:58ZAll the Michelin man's menhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2005/sep/11/travelfoodanddrink.foodanddrink.ireland
He is the toast of London's Soho, but Lindsay House proprietor and one starred-chef Richard Corrigan still regards his native Ireland as the best larder on the planet. Here he takes Rachel Cooke on a tour of his favourite artisan suppliers, markets, pubs and restaurants of County Cork<p>When I told people I was spending my bank holiday weekend in Ireland with the chef Richard Corrigan, owner of the Michelin-starred Lindsay House in Soho, they said things like: 'Oh, you lucky thing', and 'How relaxing!', and 'You are just so spoilt'. Which only goes to show how little people know. In one way, of course, it is an incredible treat to be on my way to Cork, Ireland's foodiest county, with only a charming and accomplished cook for company; as my aeroplane scoots down the runway, I'm already hard at work, imagining all the smoked salmon and sourdough bread I will be eating over the next three days, all the fresh seafood and delightful variety of potatoes. Then again, none of my friends actually know Corrigan. If they did, they might not have been quite so, well, blasé. During the planning of this trip, I arranged to meet him for coffee. The 20 minutes we spent together were as exhausting as anything I have ever done. Afterwards, I stumbled through Soho, weak of limb and staring of eye, like an extra in some apocalyptic disaster movie.</p><p>Corrigan is a force of nature, as unstoppable, mid-sentence, as a huge landslide, or a river that has just burst its banks. I do not think I have ever met someone who talks so fast, or so furiously. He has a County Meath accent, which is thick but not that thick, and yet there are periods when, so far as I am concerned, he might as well be talking in Urdu. Punctuation - you know, a pause here and there - is not something he bothers with overmuch. In place of a full stop, he prefers to say 'You know what I mean?' at least twice, occasionally three times. And then, just to make things even worse, there is his fondness for 'the craic', for staying up late, for carousing, even after a long night at the pass. In order to offset the effects of burning the candle at both ends, Corrigan is a massive consumer of coffee, which he hurls to the back of his throat in the manner of a seal dispensing with a small herring. The caffeine, then, keeps the chat at fever pitch even when he is on his knees with exhaustion. You watch him, and you find yourself picturing the latest shot whizzing round his body, like a silver ball in a bagatelle.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2005/sep/11/travelfoodanddrink.foodanddrink.ireland">Continue reading...</a>Food and drinkFood & drinkTravelIreland holidaysLife and styleSun, 11 Sep 2005 18:08:40 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2005/sep/11/travelfoodanddrink.foodanddrink.irelandRachel Cooke2005-09-11T18:08:40Z